


With a Broken Wing

by Deanie95



Category: DCU
Genre: Bat Family, But sometimes it's just so hard, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, He does it all for his family, Hurt/Comfort, With a Broken Wing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-15
Updated: 2015-01-15
Packaged: 2018-03-07 15:21:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3176730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deanie95/pseuds/Deanie95
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He knows he`s the least broken in his little rag-tag family. That`s why he tries so hard. Sometimes though...</p><p>Sometimes he's reminded that he's just as shattered as the others.</p>
            </blockquote>





	With a Broken Wing

He knows he's the least broken in his family.

Bruce's parents were killed right in front of him when he was twelve. Jason's mom was an addict and his dad was hired muscle for Two-Face, not to mention he's been killed how many times?

Tim's parents were never really around, but his mom was still killed and his dad paralyzed. Then, his dad was pretty pissed about the whole “You're Robin?!” thing and was stabbed in the heart by Captain Boomerang.

Steph's dad was a villain, Babs was paralyzed by the freaking Joker, and Cass' parents were assassins and she was still learning to talk and read and write, for God's sake!

Damian had Talia al Ghul and Bruce as his parents. It doesn't get much worse than that.

Himself? Sure his parents were killed, but he was six when it happened. By the time he really understood that his Mamí and Tatí weren't coming back, he'd been with Bruce for years. So yeah, he was by far the least broken.

Don't get him wrong, there are days when he just lays in bed and wonders what it would be like had they lived. What it would be like had he remained with Haly's Circus. He's got one hell of an imagination, so it's not hard to think of all the acts they would preform and all the places they'd go.

But yeah, he's not the most broken member of this rag-tag family. That's why he tries so hard. It's for the others. All the hugs he gives, all the cuddling he forces on the others, the jokes, the tricks, the movie nights he tries to organize, but always fails at because for some reason they all seem to be busy when he asks them. He does this for the others.

Jason is always an asshole about it and it wouldn't be the first time he's almost been decked by the violent hero because of the movie offer.

Tim insists he's busy running a program on his laptop, testing it on there before he loads it to the Bat-Computer in the cave.

Steph would come if he bothered to ask twice, but she's in school and needs to keep studying, and he just doesn't have the heart to put her education on the back burner.

Babs, well, since she dumped him, she been avoiding him, so whenever he makes a social call she usually just hangs up on him.

Cass would watch, but he's always enjoyed making jokes about crappy parts of a film and not hearing laughter is kind of a buzz kill.

He used to ask Damian regularly, but there's only so many times he can handle being called an “inbred, plebeian carny” who “is too old to act like a child a fraction of his real age” before his feelings really do get hurt.

He stopped asking Bruce to spend time with him when he was still Robin.

He tries not to let it get to him, the fact that his family, as broken and odd as they all may be, don't have the time to hang out. He really does try.

But…it's hard.

He knows they're busy and he knows they can't spend every minute of the day with him, but all he asks is for one night every two weeks for them all to get together and be a family. He lets them know two weeks in advance too, just so they know.

“I've got to study for this quiz tomorrow. Sorry!” Steph always says.

“No offense, Dick for brains, but I'd rather shoot myself.” Jason's told him several times.

“I'm designing a new Malware program for the Batcomputer, maybe later.” that's what good old Tim tells him.

“Yeah, no. I've got…things…and…stuff. No.” Yep, good ol' Babs.

“…” Cass just tilts her head with a confused look on her face.

“Tt. No.” and there's Dami, with muttered insults about his parentage and questions about why Bruce even bothered taking in a circus kid.

Ow…

So here he is, sitting on top of the Wayne Enterprises building, with a knee pulled up to his chest. They're all too busy to hang out, so they're probably too busy to patrol. Well, at least that's what he thinks until he sees Black Bat and Spoiler few buildings north. Then he sees both Robins chasing after Red Hood, yelling obscenities and curses.

Maybe it's just him. Maybe he just tries to hard.

Maybe he should just stop trying all together.

“I thought you and the others were staying at the Manor for a movie night.”

He glances over his shoulder as Batman moves out of the shadows, “They were all too busy with other stuff.”

“Hm.”

He sighs and pulls his other knee up to his chest so he can hold onto both of them, “Didn't wanna waste their time.”

“I see.” Batman murmurs, then he walks over and sits next to him, holding a box toward his sad friend, “Alfred said he never saw you eat dinner.”

“General Tso's Chicken?” he mumbles as he takes the box and pair of chopsticks.

“Is there anything better?”

Well, having his siblings want to hang out with him would be, but, eh, he'll take what he can get. Eating cheap Chinese food with Batman's not all that bad.

“So.”

“Yup.” he says, knowing that the Big Bat knows that the others are running around the city instead of studying or working on the computer or whatever.

Batman looks out the corner of his eye at his former charge, “If you want we can go back to the Manor. I think I remember something about a Marvel marathon on.”

“You hate Marvel movies.”

“I hate Iron Man.”

“You're both essentially the same kind of person!”

“I think I'm insulted.”

“You're both super rich and you both fight crime.”

“I'm not a sarcastic asshole like him.”

He rolls his eyes, “His sarcasm is funny. Yours is dark and sometimes hurtful.”

“Now I am insulted.” Batman mutters, then chews on a juice piece of chicken, “Hurtful?”

“Well, it used to be. Now it's just a part of your charm.”

“Lovely.”

“Good thing everyone understands that. You might not have any friends if they didn't.”

Batman dug around in his carton for another piece, “I'm not a man-whore like him, though.”

“I'm sorry, but weren't you voted Gotham's Most Available Playboy? Seven years running?”

“Hm.”

“You're both geniuses, playboys, philanthropists, and billionaires.” he points his chopsticks at his former mentor, “Face it, B. You are Iron Man.”

“Do you want to go home and watch the movies or not?”

“Well, yeah. I was just waiting for you to finish your food.”

So his little brothers and sisters didn't want to watch movies with him. So they all said they were too busy with other things to hang out with him.

For the first time in years Bruce wasn't too busy to watch stupid movies with him.

And if he just so happens to cry on Bruce's shoulder when the sad parts really get to him, well, at least it's someone he knows will understand.

After, he might think he's the least broken one in his family, but he's really just as shattered as they are.


End file.
